Free The Cyber Chronicles Book II: Death Zone by T C Southwell Page B

formed a shelter in the hollow of its former foundation.
Sweat dripped from his chin and ran down his chest. Dust and bits
of leaf speckled him. Tassin settled on the soft humus and listened
to the jungle's din as she inhaled the fragrance of a flower she
had plucked earlier. Sabre left her to hunt a pig for their supper,
then collected wood and built a fire. After they had eaten, he
draped the petticoats over the roots to form a rude tent, then lay
down with his back to her and fell asleep.
     
     
    The wolf
trotted into the jungle, its nose quivering over the ground, and
paused to glance back at Gearn, tongue lolling. The mage smiled and
nodded at it. The trail blazed into the jungle was fresh; the
wilting plants beside it were no more than two days old. The Queen
had stopped to rest after crossing the desert, which did not
surprise him. After they had encountered the butchered corpse of
the chestnut horse, the scuffed trail left by her stumbling steps
had revealed her exhaustion. When her prints had vanished into the
Death Zone, he surmised that she had been at the end of her
strength. Three days after they had picked up the trail on the far
side, the Queen's track had vanished and the warrior mage's
footprints had deepened. It amazed him that the man still had the
strength to carry her.
    Murdor trudged
behind, stony-faced. His humour had dwindled on the journey, and,
although he did not appear to be particularly tired, he was
obviously bored. Gearn's hood had protected his pasty features from
the sun, but Murdor's were burnt a deep brown and his shaven pate
was peeling. As they followed the trail into the jungle, insects
assaulted them, and Gearn cast a simple spell to repel them as
Murdor swatted and growled at the irritant.

 
     
    Chapter Six
     
    The following
day, Sabre and Tassin pushed on. Sabre slashed at the undergrowth
with unnecessary savagery, she thought. They crossed several
streams, and refilled the water skins each time. Tassin picked
exotic blossoms and arranged them in her hair to amuse herself.
Sabre stopped to rest every so often, and eyed her girlish
adornments with a marked lack of enthusiasm. In the afternoon, they
came to a river, and Tassin stared at the expanse of brown water in
horror, then glanced at Sabre.
    "What are we
going to do?"
    "Cross
it."
    "How? I cannot
swim."
    He smiled
without humour. "Somehow I didn't think you could, in spite of
being a warrior queen." He wiped the sweat from his brow. "We'll
find a bridge, or a shallow spot."
    Sabre led her
upstream along the riverbank, where the undergrowth was thinner.
Two hours later, they found a tree fallen across the spate. Sabre
climbed onto the broad trunk and walked across, then came back,
smiling.
    "There you
are; a bridge."
    Tassin stared
at the slippery-looking log. "What if I slip?"
    Sabre's smile
faded as he jumped down and leant against the trunk. "You won't
slip. If you do, I'll just have to fish you out, won't I?"
    "It's not
safe. There must be a better way."
    "Maybe, maybe
not. But we have to cross the river, and this is a perfectly good
way to do it." He flashed her a mocking smile. "Don't be scared, I
won't let you drown if you fall in."
    Tassin drew
herself up. "I am not afraid! There could be a bridge further
upstream. You said that there might be civilisation here."
    "I said there
might be some on the other side of the jungle. This is the middle
of the jungle; no civilised person would live here."
    She frowned at
the log. "But if I fall..."
    He
straightened, easing his back. "Don't fall."
    Goaded by his
mockery, she put aside her fears and climbed onto the log with his
help, clinging to it. Sabre dumped the pack and climbed up beside
her.
    "Don't look
down. Pretend that there's solid ground under it." He walked out
over the river, then came back and held out his hand. "Here, take
my hand and look at me."
    Tassin gripped
his hand and rose unsteadily to her feet, her gaze fixed on his
chest. Sabre edged across the log, his